Kleenex searches for its #HayfeverHero

imogen.thompson

With lovely long summer days comes the much less welcome increase in pollen count. For all those suffering from hay fever across the UK, it can be a very uncomfortable time. Even if you don’t get affected yourself, I’m sure you can identify with being stuck on a crowded bus or train in the heat next to someone with a streaming nose, sneezing every few minutes.

As the country’s leading tissue brand, Kleenex knew this was a conversation it should be involved in, as well as an opportunity to let people know about its Sensitive range, with hypoallergenic qualities. So they asked us to come up with a fun, relevant way to speak directly to hay fever sufferers.

Through social listening, we discovered that hay fever sufferers certainly don’t hold back when it comes to talking about their allergies on social; the most commonly used emojis are those showing crying and desperation.

Screen Shot 2015-07-27 at 14.36.16

In these moments of despair, we wanted to reach out to people to show them that we care and want to help, by engaging with them in a way that is uplifting in keeping with Kleenex’s overarching strategy around offering gestures of care. To do this, we decided to reach out, using Twitter, to those most in need this summer – the hardcore hay fever sufferers.

In an attempt to turn some of their sad or distressed hay fever vibes into a more positive feeling, we created ‘Hay Fever Heroes’ to surprise and delight the social community, and hopefully help Kleenex turn their bad day into a better one. We identified Twitter users sharing the most dramatic and funny tweets about their hay fever, and reached out to them with a message of support, making those with the best messages our #HayfeverHero of the day.

The activity isn’t just limited to Twitter – all our Hay Fever Heroes are sent a hay fever rescue pack, which includes a selection of Kleenex Sensitive tissues and a personalised certificate of hay fever heroism. The campaign has only just kicked off and we’ve already seen a positive response to the first packs we have sent out. 

We’ve still got another month to find many more of the UK’s Hay Fever Heroes, so if you’re suffering, make sure you share it on social, and don’t hold back! We’re waiting to hear from you.